{"product_id":"nirvana-nevermind","title":"Nirvana – Nevermind","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e— The Analog Vault \/\/ Essential Listening —\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0cm 12.0pt 0cm;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eNirvana recast underground clamor as precision-crafted impact on \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003eNevermind\u003c\/i\u003e, where Butch Vig’s production and Andy Wallace’s mix sharpened Kurt Cobain’s melodies without sanding their bite. The DGC release from 1991 pushed “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from subculture to ubiquity, while “Come as You Are,” “In Bloom” and “Lithium” rounded an album sequenced for punch and dynamic contrast. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0cm 12.0pt 0cm;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eDave Grohl’s drums land like architecture, and the bass-guitar mesh detonates into choruses that collapse and bloom on replay. By January 1992 the record had toppled Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” on the Billboard 200, signaling a generational pivot and dragging alternative rock into the mainstream. Heard now, \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003eNevermind\u003c\/i\u003e balances abrasion and clarity with unnerving ease - a canonical rock document whose hooks still carry subversive charge. — \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eThe Analog Vault\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003co:p\u003e\u003c\/o:p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eevermind\u003c\/em\u003e was never meant to change the world, but you can never predict when the Zeitgeist will hit, and Nirvana's second album turned out to be the place where alternative rock crashed into the mainstream. This wasn't entirely an accident, either, since Nirvana did sign with a major label, and they did release a record with a shiny surface, no matter how humongous the guitars sounded. And, yes, \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e is probably a little shinier than it should be, positively glistening with echo and fuzzbox distortion, especially when compared with the black-and-white murk of \u003cem\u003eBleach\u003c\/em\u003e. This doesn't discount the record, since it's not only much harder than any mainstream rock of 1991, its character isn't on the surface, it's in the exhilaratingly raw music and haunting songs. Kurt Cobain's personal problems and subsequent suicide naturally deepen the dark undercurrents, but no matter how much anguish there is on \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e, it's bracing because he exorcizes those demons through his evocative wordplay and mangled screams — and because the band has a tremendous, unbridled power that transcends the pain, turning into pure catharsis. And that's as key to the record's success as Cobain's songwriting, since Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl help turn this into music that is gripping, powerful, and even fun (and, really, there's no other way to characterize \"Territorial Pissings\" or the surging \"Breed\"). In retrospect, \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e may seem a little too unassuming for its mythic status - it's simply a great modern punk record - but even though it may no longer seem life-changing, it is certainly life-affirming, which may just be better. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.allmusic.com\/album\/nevermind-mw0000185616\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAllMusic\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore its September 1991 release, Geffen Records were hoping to sell 250,000 copies of \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e. But Nirvana's second album went on to shift 100 times that amount; and, since the suicide of frontman Kurt Cobain in April 1994, its surprise success has been acknowledged as a factor in its primary songwriter’s tragic demise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith hindsight it is easy to work out why Cobain struggled with the LP after its completion and release. \u003cem\u003eIn Utero\u003c\/em\u003e, Nirvana's third and final studio album of 1993, was a difficult, abrasive record; compared to its predecessor, it's clearly the product of a mind pushed beyond its limit. Cobain would dismiss \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e, the follow-up to 1989's scrappy debut \u003cem\u003eBleach\u003c\/em\u003e, as “a Motley Crue record” rather than the punk album that may have been initially intended.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tunes are still ace, but there is an unquestionable MTV sheen plastered over the bulk of them. The band enlisted Butch Vig to produce the record and trusted him behind the desk. But when mixing went awry, Slayer mixer Andy Wallace was brought in to tweak the final mixes. While Wallace used less studio trickery than the average pop producer, Kurt was right: what now sits on 26 million shelves is definitely not punk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead, it’s an awesome mainstream rock record. Its four standalone cuts, including \u003cem\u003eSmells Like Teen Spirit\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCome As You Are\u003c\/em\u003e are exemplary, soaring rock singles which quickly became angst-ridden anthems for disaffected teens across the world. The quiet\/loud formula that Nirvana made their own was stolen from the Pixies, as Kurt freely admitted; but Frank Black’s merry crew never managed to hook listeners like \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe guitars are all crunched, phased and compressed to within an inch of their six strings, and the drum sounds are predictably accountant-tight and brickie-tough. Lyrically, aside from Polly, \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e rarely goes beyond woe-is-me or the cryptic: witness On A Plain’s \"The black sheep got \/ blackmailed again \/ forgot to put \/ on a zip code\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut even the occasional piece of nonsensical wordplay couldn’t hide the beguiling, revelatory side of Cobain's writing. The aforementioned Polly is about a rapist, while Kurt said Something in the Way was about sleeping rough - although friends of his have since denied he ever did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd there were Kurt’s vocals. By turns haunted and hurting, caged and desperate, it’s his scuffed, torn diary of a voice that you remember after the guitars have faded. Ultimately it's his fraying presence that ensures that \u003cem\u003eNevermind\u003c\/em\u003e is a flawed classic, but a classic just the same. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/music\/reviews\/f8dp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eBBC\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/2UJcKiJxNryhL050F5Z1Fk?utm_source=generator\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: DGC, Sub Pop\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue\u003cbr\u003eCountry: Europe\u003cbr\u003eReissued: 2020 \/ Original: 1991\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Rock\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Grunge, Alternative Rock\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: School Of Rock\u003cbr\u003eFile under: TAV Essential Listening\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DGC \/ Sub Pop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41456795943070,"sku":"720642442517","price":45.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/products\/Nirvana_4395253f-7c95-47cd-a889-02bdb8dc2577.jpg?v=1646297524","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/nirvana-nevermind","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}